Daily Bible CEV February 25 Scroll

Giving

Matthew 6 When you do good deeds, don't try to show off. If you do, you won't get a reward from your Father in heaven.

²When you give to the poor, don't blow a loud horn. That's what show-offs do in the meeting places and on the street corners, because they are always looking for praise. I can assure you that they already have their reward.

³When you give to the poor, don't let anyone know about it. ⁴Then your gift will be given in secret. Your Father knows what is done in secret, and he will reward you.

Prayer
(Luke 11.2-4)

⁵When you pray, don't be like those show-offs who love to stand up and pray in the meeting places and on the street corners. They do this just to look good. I can assure you that they already have their reward.

⁶When you pray, go into a room alone and close the door. Pray to your Father in private. He knows what is done in private, and he will reward you.

⁷When you pray, don't talk on and on as people do who don't know God. They think God likes to hear long prayers. ⁸Don't be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask.

⁹You should pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,

help us to honor your name.

¹⁰Come and set up your kingdom,

so that everyone on earth will obey you,

as you are obeyed in heaven.

¹¹Give us our food for today.

¹²Forgive us for doing wrong,

as we forgive others.

¹³Keep us from being tempted

and protect us from evil.

¹⁴If you forgive others for the wrongs they do to you, your Father in heaven will forgive you. ¹⁵But if you don't forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Worshiping God by Going without Eating

¹⁶When you go without eating, don't try to look gloomy as those show-offs do when they go without eating. I can assure you that they already have their reward. ¹⁷Instead, comb your hair and wash your face. ¹⁸Then others won't know that you are going without eating. But your Father sees what is done in private, and he will reward you.

The LORD Tells Israel To Leave Mount Sinai

Exodus 33 The LORD said to Moses:

You led the people of Israel out of Egypt. Now get ready to lead them to the land I promised their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ^2-3It is a land rich with milk and honey, and I will send an angel to force out those people who live there--the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. I would go with my people, but they are so rebellious that I would destroy them before they get there.

^4-5Even before the LORD said these harsh things, he had told Moses, "These people really are rebellious, and I would kill them at once, if I went with them. But tell them to take off their fancy jewelry, then I'll decide what to do with them." So the people started mourning, ⁶and after leaving Mount Sinai, they stopped wearing fancy jewelry.

The LORD Is with His People

⁷Moses used to set up a tent far from camp. He called it the "meeting tent," and whoever needed some message from the LORD would go there. ⁸Each time Moses went out to the tent, everyone would stand at the entrance to their own tents and watch him enter. ^9-11Then they would bow down because a thick cloud would come down in front of the tent, and the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, just like a friend. Afterwards, Moses would return to camp, but his young assistant Joshua would stay at the tent.

The LORD Promises To Be with His People

¹²Moses said to the LORD, "I know that you have told me to lead these people to the land you promised them. But you have not told me who my assistant will be. You have said that you are my friend and that you are pleased with me. ¹³If this is true, let me know what your plans are, then I can obey and continue to please you. And don't forget that you have chosen this nation to be your own."

¹⁴The LORD said, "I will go with you and give you peace."

¹⁵Then Moses replied, "If you aren't going with us, please don't make us leave this place. ¹⁶But if you do go with us, everyone will know that you are pleased with your people and with me. That way, we will be different from the rest of the people on earth."

¹⁷So the LORD told him, "I will do what you have asked, because I am your friend and I am pleased with you."

¹⁸Then Moses said, "I pray that you will let me see you in all of your glory."

¹⁹The LORD answered:

All right. I am the LORD, and I show mercy and kindness to anyone I choose. I will let you see my glory and hear my holy name, ²⁰but I won't let you see my face, because anyone who sees my face will die. ²¹There is a rock not far from me. Stand beside it, ²²and before I pass by in all of my shining glory, I will put you in a large crack in the rock. I will cover your eyes with my hand until I have passed by. ²³Then I will take my hand away, and you will see my back. You will not see my face.

The Second Set of Commandments
(Deuteronomy 10.1-5)

Exodus 34 One day the LORD said to Moses, "Cut two flat stones like the first ones I made, and I will write on them the same commandments that were on the two you broke. ²Be ready tomorrow morning to come up Mount Sinai and meet me at the top. ³No one is to come with you or to be on the mountain at all. Don't even let the sheep and cattle graze at the foot of the mountain." ⁴So Moses cut two flat stones like the first ones, and early the next morning he carried them to the top of Mount Sinai, just as the LORD had commanded.

⁵The LORD God came down in a cloud and stood beside Moses there on the mountain. God spoke his holy name, "the LORD." ⁶Then he passed in front of Moses and called out, "I am the LORD God. I am merciful and very patient with my people. I show great love, and I can be trusted. ⁷I keep my promises to my people forever, but I also punish anyone who sins. When people sin, I punish them and their children, and also their grandchildren and great-grandchildren."

⁸Moses quickly bowed down to the ground and worshiped the LORD. ⁹He prayed, "LORD, if you really are pleased with me, I pray that you will go with us. It is true that these people are sinful and rebellious, but forgive our sin and let us be your people."

A Promise and Its Demands
(Exodus 23.14-19; Deuteronomy 7.1-5; 16.1-17)

¹⁰The LORD said:

I promise to perform miracles for you that have never been seen anywhere on earth. Neighboring nations will stand in fear and know that I was the one who did these marvelous things. ¹¹I will force out the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, but you must do what I command you today. ¹²Don't make treaties with any of those people. If you do, it will be like falling into a trap. ¹³Instead, you must destroy their altars and tear down the sacred poles they use in the worship of the goddess Asherah. ¹⁴I demand your complete loyalty--you must not worship any other god! ¹⁵Don't make treaties with the people there, or you will soon find yourselves worshiping their gods and taking part in their sacrificial meals. ¹⁶Your men will even marry their women and be influenced to worship their gods.

¹⁷Don't make metal images of gods.

¹⁸Don't fail to observe the Festival of Thin Bread in the month of Abib. Obey me and eat bread without yeast for seven days during Abib, because that is the month you left Egypt.

¹⁹The first-born males of your families and of your flocks and herds belong to me.

²⁰You can save the life of a first-born donkey by sacrificing a lamb; if you don't, you must break the donkey's neck. You must save every first-born son.

Bring an offering every time you come to worship.

²¹Do your work in six days and rest on the seventh day, even during the seasons for plowing and harvesting. ²²Celebrate the Harvest Festival each spring when you start harvesting your wheat, and celebrate the Festival of Shelters each autumn when you pick your fruit.

²³Your men must come to worship me three times a year, because I am the LORD God of Israel. ²⁴I will force the nations out of your land and enlarge your borders. Then no one will try to take your property when you come to worship me these three times each year.

²⁵When you sacrifice an animal on the altar, don't offer bread made with yeast. And don't save any part of the Passover meal for the next day.

²⁶I am the LORD your God, and you must bring the first part of your harvest to the place of worship.

Don't boil a young goat in its mother's milk.

²⁷The LORD told Moses to put these laws in writing, as part of his agreement with Israel. ²⁸Moses stayed on the mountain with the LORD for forty days and nights, without eating or drinking. And he wrote down the Ten Commandments, the most important part of God's agreement with his people.

Moses Comes Down from Mount Sinai

²⁹Moses came down from Mount Sinai, carrying the Ten Commandments. His face was shining brightly because the LORD had been speaking to him. But Moses did not know at first that his face was shining. ³⁰When Aaron and the others looked at Moses, they saw that his face was shining, and they were afraid to go near him. ³¹Moses called out for Aaron and the leaders to come to him, and he spoke with them. ³²Then the rest of the people of Israel gathered around Moses, and he gave them the laws that the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai.

³³The face of Moses kept shining, and after he had spoken with the people, he covered his face with a veil. ³⁴Moses would always remove the veil when he went into the sacred tent to speak with the LORD. And when he came out, he would tell the people everything the LORD had told him to say. ³⁵They could see that his face was still shining. So after he had spoken with them, he would put the veil back on and leave it on until the next time he went to speak with the LORD.

The LORD Sees Everything

Proverbs 15 A kind answer soothes angry feelings,

but harsh words stir them up.

²Words of wisdom come from the wise,

but fools speak foolishness.

³The LORD sees everything, whether good or bad.

⁴Kind words are good medicine,

but deceitful words can really hurt.

⁵Don't be a fool and disobey your parents.

Be smart! Accept correction.

⁶Good people become wealthy,

but those who are evil will lose what they have.

⁷Words of wisdom make good sense;

the thoughts of a fool make no sense at all.

⁸The LORD is disgusted by gifts from the wicked,

but it makes him happy when his people pray.

⁹The LORD is disgusted with all who do wrong,

but he loves everyone who does right.

¹⁰If you turn from the right way, you will be punished;

if you refuse correction, you will die.

¹¹If the LORD can see everything in the world of the dead,

he can see in our hearts.

¹²Those who sneer at others don't like to be corrected,

and they won't ask help from someone with sense.

¹³Happiness makes you smile; sorrow can crush you.

¹⁴Anyone with good sense is eager to learn more,

but fools are hungry for foolishness.

¹⁵The poor have a hard life,

but being content is as good as an endless feast.

¹⁶It's better to obey the LORD and have only a little,

than to be very rich and terribly confused.

¹⁷A simple meal with love is better than a feast

where there is hatred.

¹⁸Losing your temper causes a lot of trouble,

but staying calm settles arguments.

¹⁹Being lazy is like walking in a thorn patch,

but everyone who does right walks on a smooth road.

²⁰Children with good sense make their parents happy,

but foolish children are hateful to them.

²¹Stupidity brings happiness to senseless fools,

but everyone with good sense follows the straight path.

²²Without good advice everything goes wrong--

it takes careful planning for things to go right.

²³Giving the right answer at the right time

makes everyone happy.

²⁴All who are wise follow a road

that leads upward to life and away from death.

²⁵The LORD destroys the homes of those who are proud,

but he protects the property of widows.

²⁶The LORD hates evil thoughts,

but kind words please him.

²⁷Being greedy causes trouble for your family,

but you protect yourself by refusing bribes.

²⁸Good people think before they answer,

but the wicked speak evil without ever thinking.

²⁹The LORD never even hears the prayers of the wicked,

but he answers the prayers of all who obey him.

³⁰A friendly smile makes you happy,

and good news makes you feel strong.

³¹Healthy correction is good,

and if you accept it, you will be wise.

³²You hurt only yourself by rejecting instruction,

but it makes good sense to accept it.

³³Showing respect to the LORD will make you wise,

and being humble will bring honor to you.

These daily Bible readings from the Contemporary English Version (CEV) are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. BibleCard® images copyright iCreative. All rights reserved.